August 12, 2011

{ Friday Fun }

Is it Friday again, already?!!!
I've had a hard time blogging this summer.
It's been busy, busy & fun, fun!
Anywho...todays, Friday Fun is from the amazing blog a la mode.

Here are a few of my favorite things in her home.
 The bold graphics in the artwork & on the fabrics in her living room.



The mixed seating in the dining room, especially the bench...

 The eating areas long curtains, light fixture, the eclectic seating...

The serene feeling of her master bedroom...



The funky fun nursery... 


And her beautiful office...
There's too many things I love in this office *sigh*

Go check out a la mode. She always has something new & amazing to share.

Have a happy weekend!

August 6, 2011

{ Off the Hook }

I found this frame in someones trash in my friend's neighborhood.  I had it sitting in my garage for about 2 years before I decided to pull it out and finally do something with it.  It was originally black and gold and fancy looking. Much to fancy for my casual new family room.  I decided to put a board that I cut to the right size and I painted with 8 coats of chalkboard paint.
I then painted the frame with leftover paint from another project. The old finish started to kind of bleed through as I was doing it, so I wiped some of the paint off with a rag. I really liked how it brought out the details and turned out to be more of a wash. Some of the crackling and black showed through.

My sister Jamie and I hung hooks below so the kids could hang their backpacks and I could hang my purse. We made sure to use really good anchors so they would be able to hold the weight of heavy backpacks. This hallway is right as you come in from the garage so it is a perfect spot to drop everything!

Jamie added the colorful pendant banner out of colored chalk and we put a little bucket on one of the hooks to hold the chalk.
I purchased the hooks at Hobby Lobby.  They had a huge assortment to choose from.  They also happened to be 50% off so they averaged about $3 each!

I guess we are ready now for school to start.  Not really,  I can't believe we only have 3 weeks left. 
Time flys when your having fun!!!

August 5, 2011

{ Family Room Makeover }

I decided to rearrange my house.  I had made the family room that is attached to the kitchen into a big dining room.  This was great for when we had parties and holiday dinners, but my family was always upstairs in the loft where the TV was and I was always downstairs. 
So, I started by bringing down my white couches & tv from my loft, but wasn't crazy about how neutral everything was. My mom and I decided that we wanted to do a couch trade!  This was nice because other than having to rent a Uhaul trailer it was free!

Jamie came to visit this last week and we had a great time decorating with the cute slipcovered denim sofas that I got from Mom.
I wanted a more fun and colorful family room area, I started by putting a quilt on the back of the sofa that was made by my great grandma. It is every color of the rainbow and was kind of a kick off point. Next we gathered up pictures from all over the house and added them to the wall around the TV. Some of them my kids painted and some of them I did buy. I still need to add a couple more where the white ones are. The white chair used to be denim at one time, but it's slipcover has been gone for several years now. I need to make a new one for it.
We decided since we had so much color going on the walls and pillows we would do a neutral curtain. I used some leftover white muslin that is 120 inches wide. We had no extra! We even had to barely roll the bottom to have them be the right length. I love them!


We went shopping in my garage and around the house to find some new accessories to add and make it fun. I love when I just move things around and repurpose things that I have had for a long time.

I love this pillow we found at Home Goods. It reminds me of the very expensive ones they sell at Anthropologie. It is down filled and was $29. Such fun color and texture!

I would still like to get a rug and change out the ceiling fan and someday maybe get new floors. And there is still a piano in a nook to the right that needs a little TLC, but that will be in a later post.

It feels so fun and colorful, I love how it turned out!  It makes me happy to be in here.

August 4, 2011

{ A Little Change }

I added this antique mirror {actually Sheri added it} on top of my Grandpa's hutch last week.
I looove it!
Sheri came into town last week with her kids and while our kids played, we went shopping! I took her to an antique store where we found some great things. I should have taken pictures of our purchases. I found something to add to the blank walls in my dining room that I'm hoping to show you soon.

Anyway, Sheri found this old mirror for only $19. It had a great shape & the mirror was perfectly imperfect.
{Don't you love my crafting tablecloth?} Sheri gave it a few coats of paint & sanded it just right.
After it was finished, she propped it up on our Grandpa's hutch to keep it out of the kids way & lo and behold...it added just the right touch for that spot.

This is what it looked like before...

and after...
Sheri was nice enough to trade it to me for a quilt top that I had made. Thanks Sheri. I reeeaaallly love it!